Member Update May 20, 2020

May 20, 2020

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund providing interest-free loans to cover support gaps for western Canadian businesses

Western Economic Diversification Canada is offering interest-free loans through a Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) to western Canadian businesses that aren’t covered by the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).

If you’ve applied for CEBA and have been rejected, you may qualify for an RRRF loan.

Eligible businesses include:

  • Pre-revenue firms (e.g. a company that has not had any sales to date)
  • Businesses that do not have salaried employees (e.g. a company with a workforce of contract employees)
  • Businesses with no payroll that pay their owners a salary (e.g. a company that pays its owners through dividends)

Sole proprietorships aren’t eligible for RRRF loans.

To learn more, click here to access the RRRF eligibility assistant.

Commercial rent assistance applications open May 25

Applications for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) will open on May 25.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is administering the program through an online portal. We’ll provide the link as soon as it’s available.

This program will provide forgivable loans to commercial property owners to cover their tenant’s rent. Qualifying commercial property owners will receive 50 per cent of three monthly rent payments.

Click here for more information on what you’ll need to apply for the program.

What’s working for you? Share your story

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we practice real estate. REALTORS® have been quick to adopt new tools, processes, and best-practices to help serve their clients during this crisis. 

We'd like to hear what you’re doing to help keep your business surviving and thriving. 

Send your tips, insights, and tools to mmoldowan@rebgv.org, and we’ll feature them in future updates. 

Traffic to Realtylink.org back to pre-pandemic highs

As the provincial government begins to ease restrictions, potential home buyers are returning to Realtylink.org, your Board’s public-facing home listings search site.

In the last 30 days, 52,517 users accessed Realtylink.org, a 23 per cent increase over the 30 days prior. This is also just one per cent less than the same period last year.

Those users are also spending more time on the site, looking at and sharing more listings, and are coming back to the site more often.